


Puppy Love

by Hi0ctane



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: A cute dog appears, Alternate Universe - Animal Shelters, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Falling In Love, M/M, Pining, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-28 03:24:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17779676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hi0ctane/pseuds/Hi0ctane
Summary: Stiles Stilinski drives to the Beacon Hills Preserve Animal shelter to fetch a dog for his friend. Meeting the most beautiful man of the entire known universe wasn't on the agenda, but he sure isn't going to complain.(Or: Stiles meets Derek at an animal shelter. The rest will be history between them soon enough.)





	Puppy Love

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AJenno](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AJenno/gifts).



> This is for Jennoasis/AJenno. I hope it finds you well, and gives you your daily dose of fluff. ♥   
> Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

Stiles sighed as he pulled up at the animal shelter, car stopping with a stutter and finally falling silent below him. Not for the first time today he reminded himself that he had absolutely zero time for this, and not for the first time did he decide that it didn’t really matter.

The thing was: Stiles is a good friend. Always has been. And as this kind of good friend, the one you can call at three AM to pick you up after a desolate date or the one that bails you out of his Dad’s holding cell if he really has to, as this kind of good friend he couldn’t deny Scott’s virtual puppy dog eyes as he called him from work during one of his evening study sessions. 

It was about a dog, and about the fact that Deaton – the doctor at the animal clinic, and Scott’s boss, respectively – was out of office for an emergency. Scott was supposed to fetch a dog from the Beacon Hills Preserve shelter, but his mom had the car, it was raining buckets, and the clinic was in some kind of disarray after the busy day, and… yeah, Stiles had stopped really paying attention at this point, because he knew that Scott would loop him around his little finger just like that. So he had started the car and decided to drive off, fetching the pooch in question and taking it over to good ol’ Scotty’s side. 

The animal shelter was outside of the city, in the thick woods surrounding Beacon Hills on the west. Stiles had never been here, actually, but he knew from his dad that this was the go-to place if anything happened to an animal at a police operation. The parking lot was, thankfully, almost entirely empty (which probably wasn’t unusual, seeing that it was getting pretty late already), allowing him to pick a spot near the doors. Stiles laid out blankets in the back of his car for the puppy in question, and sauntered over to the double doors marking the entry. 

There was a jingle as he pushed the door open, and a young woman looked up from the front counter, looking at him with what was quite possibly the most bored expression ever. Stiles gave an awkward wave as he approached her. 

“Hey,” he started lamely. “I’m looking to fetch an, err, dog for the animal clinic downtown? For an operation early tomorrow? My friend Scott McCall sent me to do the honours, he’s still busy at the clinic himself and doctor Deaton isn’t in – ” 

“Ah, yes,” the girl said, nodding slowly. “Deaton called earlier, told us his apprentice would come. That’s you, then, I guess,” she concluded, ignoring half of what Stiles had just said. Just as well. He beamed at her, nodding and playing along. 

“Indeed. That would be me.” 

“I’m glad you managed to finally show up. Means I can go home soon,” she grumbled, picking up a phone. There was a moment of silence while she waited for her call to connect, and then a voice on the other side of the line, distorted and barely audible from where Stiles stood. 

“Yeah, he’s – yeah,” the girl said, nodding mutely. “He’s here now. You can fetch him from the entrance. No dumbass, that’s your job. Yes. Alright, see you soon.” 

She hung up, rolling her eyes. 

“He’ll be here in a minute, bringing the dog along. You can sit by the door,” she suggested, already beginning to pack up her papers.

“Sure,” Stiles drawled in reply, moving over to the uncomfortable plastic chairs next to the door. He wondered who it was the girl called – and why she called him those choice words, too. Then again he couldn’t argue with her desire to go home soon. He had a feeling they had just been waiting for Deaton’s entourage to fetch the patient before closing up for the night. 

He was just about to stick his head deeper into a brochure on neutering your pet when he heard the tell-tale pitter-patter of clawed feet on the ground, followed by sure, steady footsteps. He looked up… 

…and promptly lost his train of thought entirely. 

There was a guy, leading a slightly shaggy dog down the hallway; he had dark hair and stunning, bright eyes, and the scruff of a man that hadn’t shaved in a couple of days. 

He also was the most gorgeous being Stiles had ever laid his eyes upon. 

Stiles was dimly aware that he was staring, but if the guy noticed he didn’t say a thing. He stopped the dog (who was limping slightly, Stiles noticed; that was probably the reason for the operation at Deaton’s, tomorrow morning) in front of the sitting boy and looked down on him, expectantly. 

“Well, you’re late,” he said, and Stiles heart leapt at the low, rich voice coming out of his mouth. Hot damn, he was a proper wet dream on legs. 

“Uhm,” Stiles said, dumbstruck by the stranger’s beauty, before finding his voice again. “I mean. Sorry? There was a lot of trouble at the clinic and – “ 

“It’s okay,” Handsome Face grumbled in reply. He didn’t have a name tag, and pressed the end of the dog’s leash into Stiles’ slightly trembling fingers. “This is Apollo. We already sent his paperwork over earlier, so we need nothing but your signature, and then you can take him to the clinic. I take you bring him back after the operation?”

“Uh, yeah, sure,” Stiles grinned. Anything, really, to see Gorgeous McEyebrows again. He felt the blood rushing up his cheeks, but managed to hold back before he blushed like a schoolgirl under the man’s scrutiny. The mark on the side of his ribcage burned, like it always seemed to do when he felt humiliated by something – even if it was just his own overachieving feelings. 

Apollo sat down in front of Stiles, giving a single woof that called him back to reality. Almost immediately Stiles jumped to his feet, leash in hand, and nodded once, eyes on the other’s face. 

“My, uh, signature, yeah,” he parroted, following him to the counter where the bored girl was still packing up. She smirked at the dark-haired dude, but said nothing as he pressed a pen into Stiles waiting hand, asking him to sign on the dotted lines here, there and everywhere. 

Minutes later they were on the way outside to his car, Apollo in tow. The dog was panting happily along, side pressed against Stiles’ leg ever so often, and hopped into the back of the car without any fuss.

“Be careful with his leg,” Grumpy Guy said, ruffling the dog’s fur before closing the door, “And tell Deaton to give me a call when the operation’s over. I’m looking forward to get this little rascal back.” 

“Sure,” Stiles said almost dreamily, a little lost in those (Brown? Green? Hazel?) eyes. “I’ll tell him you said hi, too. I mean. If I get to know your name.” _smooth, Stiles, really smooth._

But Handsome Grump only offered him a lopsided smirk, stepping away from the closed door of the car and eyeing him directly. 

“Derek,” he said, and Stiles heart did a little victory dance. “I’m Derek.” 

 

+++++

 

“I swear he’s perfect, dude,” Stiles said dreamily, arm hanging out of the open car window. Next to him Scott was sipping a milkshake, shaking his head fondly. 

“Man, you’ve seen him for, what? Five minutes? And you’re entirely smitten already?” 

Stiles was close to whining. “I can’t help it, okay?” He ran a hand through his hair as he stopped the car at a red light, waiting for it to turn. They were on the way to Deaton’s clinic, for Scott to start his shift and for Stiles to do him the favour of bringing Apollo back to the shelter – a favour he was very excited about, truth be told. 

“Something about him just pushes all my buttons, and I wanna see him again. Preferably in a more positive context… he really was a grump yesterday.”

“Yeah well, I can kinda relate,” Scott chimed in. “Everything was sort of late. Plus he was probably worried about the dog. From what I heard he cares about the shelter animals a lot.” 

“So you do know him?” Stiles’ eyes lit up at that, and he grinned sunnily at his best friend. “Come on, spill it! Who is he? How old is he? Does he know his soulmate – “

“Whoa, hey, slow down! That’s an awful lot of questions at once!” 

Scott put his drink aside. 

“His name is Derek Hale, and his family runs the shelter – two sisters and mother, from what I know. He’s a little older than we are, and Deaton sometimes drives over for regular checkups of the pups and knows him a little bit through that. And no, from what I know he doesn’t have a soulmate yet, why the heck are you even asking?”

“Just – curiosity!” Stiles offered Scott his widest, most charming grin, ignoring the slightly narrowed eyes of his friend. They were almost at the clinic, and he really didn’t feel like a lecture. 

The truth was, Stiles wasn’t actively seeking for his soulmate since – well, probably since his infatuation with Lydia, which had been rather stupid, thank you very much, but he had been young and has had every reason to be stupid back then. Like every kid he had grown up to the stories of soulmates and finding your destined partner, yadda yadda. He also had the talk about the importance of the mark on his skin back in elementary school and once more at home, sitting on the knees of his dad, listening to every word he spoke to him. Stiles had never forgotten any of them, but still, across the years the desire to find his soulmate faded into a dull ember at the back of his mind. Scott had been different – always seeking and getting into trouble for his broken heart instead of his big mouth like Stiles – but they still had forged a strong friendship, wer close like brothers at this point. 

Now, however, now Stiles felt a lingering curiosity about the mark that would be somewhere on Derek’s skin. He wondered what it was, where it was. He himself had his soul mark on the right side of his ribcage, but he knew that it could technically be anywhere, really, mirrored only by his intended partner for life. 

He was just starting to daydream about Derek and the very obviously naked skin he would have to see to spot the mark when they arrived at the animal clinic, and Scott hopped out of the passenger seat. 

“I get Apollo from inside. You just wait here, alright? I’d say I owe you big time, but I just give you another chance of running into Derek, so I think you owe me, in the end.” 

Stiles just flipped him off, grinning all the while. 

 

+++++

 

“Now, buddy, do me a favour and don’t embarrass me thoroughly,” Stiles said across the seat, aimed at the dog lying on the bench behind him. Apollo answered with a single bark; there was a plastic cone around his scruffy neck, and his front paw was wrapped into silvery tape to keep him from scratching. 

Scott had given him a quick run-down on the operation Deaton had conducted in the early hours, given him a package of medication for the dog, and then sent him on his way. Now all Stiles could do was stop himself from getting ridiculously giddy. He couldn’t be sure about it, but he might just see Derek again! 

The drive to the shelter was quick and uneventful. Stiles pulled up in the same parking spot he had the day before – although the lot was much fuller now, it being daytime and all – and climbed out of the car, taking a very keen Apollo along. 

He was greeted by the same girl at the counter, but had to admit she looked a little less grumbly today. She even waved as Stiles entered, phone already in hand. 

“Yeah, he’s here. Got the patient, too, and he looks happy. What? Oh, sure.” She lowered the phone, waving Stiles over. “Derek’s just outside in the yard through that door. You think you can bring Apollo over to him? He’s got his hands full.” 

“Yeah, sure,” Stiles beamed, feeling stupidly happy about the prospect of seeing Derek in what he guessed was his natural environment. With Apollo at his side he trotted through the shelter’s corridor, heading to the massive door in the middle that would lead to the inner courtyard and, along it, to most of the dog kennels. 

He spotted Derek almost immediately, sitting on the grassy ground, surrounded by three excited mutts that were barking and jumping all over each other. The dark-haired man wore a stunning smile and ruffled one of his canine companions, right before looking up, startled by Apollo’s insistent bark. The injured dog dragged at the leash, and Stiles stumbled along as dog and caretaker were reunited in the yard. 

“Hey old buddy,” Derek said softly, scratching him between the ears. His eyes went up to Stiles, however, and the smile that had been on his face before didn’t vanish altogether. Instead it spread a little, seeing the flustered man on the other end of the leash. “Hey, you. Apollo dragging you around all day?” 

“Dude, I thought he was, like, injured and slowed down, but that guy got some brawns,” Stiles said with a bout of nervous laughter. Today, in the light of day and with a maroon Henley on, Derek looked even better than the night before. Not that Stiles didn’t seriously wanna see him out of that Henley, too. 

“Yeah, he’s pretty stubborn if he wants something,” Derek agreed. By now the other dogs were sniffing at Stiles, curiously – all but Apollo, who was stretched out in front of Derek, licking at his hands. “But he seems to be happy with the way you and the clinic people treated him, so. Thanks. I’m glad everything went well.” 

“Oh yeah!” Stiles looked up from petting a dog. “Deaton gave me some papers for him, like, uh, lab reports I think? And meds you gotta give him once a day for the following week. I gotta say, it’s pretty nice, seeing a shelter care so much for their residents…” 

“Yeah, it’s what we do,” Derek replied, straightening up as he stood. Shit, he wasn’t too much taller than Stiles, but his shoulders were pleasantly broad and his arms delightfully well muscled. And no, Stiles totally wasn’t thinking about that just now, nuh-uh. No way he let his mind drift. 

(He totally did let his mind drift, and he didn’t regret a single second of it.)

Stiles had hoped to stretch the visit, but really, there was just so much he was able to do without it looking suspicious altogether. Derek took the lab report, flipped through the pages and nodded to himself; he also took the medication for Apollo and noted down when to give it to him. Afterwards, when Derek was already called to another station and the girl at the counter rolled her eyes fondly at Stiles slightly awkward goodbye wave, he found himself in his car again, driving home. 

Already thinking of ways to come back. 

 

+++++

 

He found ways. 

The first was a visit to check up on Apollo, a week later. Derek wasn’t around, but the old dog recognized Stiles and happily waddled over, rubbing his head on his knee. 

The second one was a visit after school one day, when Stiles felt almost desperate from his boredom and the strange need to see Derek, thank you very much. This time the other man was around, raising his brows as he heard Stiles’ reason for showing up. 

“You’re looking for a future police dog?” Derek asked incredulous. “Beacon Hills doesn’t even have a K-9 unit.”

“Not yet!” Stiles said, sniffing indignantly. “But there’s no time like the present, right? And I heard that there’s always talented dogs at shelters to be found…” 

“Police dogs are trained from the first day onward, Stiles.” Derek sounded exasperated. He also sounded somewhat fond, and Stiles loved that he remembered his first name. It made him a little happier than he had any right to be. 

“And? Who says we can’t mix it up a little?” 

They were walking between the kennels, side by side. Stiles was stealing glances at the dogs waiting patiently for their right human to come around. Some of them were barking or whining, but most seemed rather content where they were – grouped together with others they had come to like during their stay here, or alone if socialization wasn’t an option. It was a good shelter, really – the animals seemed happy, and Derek did spend a lot of time with them, together with other members of his family. 

“Mix it up, huh?” Derek asked with a dry chuckle. “Well, as much as I would like your crazy plan see come to fruition, if only to mess with my dear family, there’s plenty reasons why it doesn’t work out. One of them being: no puppies around to train.”

“We could try training Apollo!” Stiles said with a beam. He kept his smile when he heard Derek’s full-on laugh, saw him shake his head fondly. 

“Apollo is many things, most of all a wonderful dog. But he is no police dog, not by a long shot.” 

“You should have a little faith in him. I’m sure he’d manage, with the right training.” 

Derek shot him a blank look, before breaking into quiet laughter again. And Stiles relished in the sound. 

 

+++++

 

It got gradually harder, finding a reason, but the reward of seeing Derek actually smile when he approached him, wherever he was working that day, was completely worth it. One day Stiles came over to find a pet for their aging neighbour, and Derek actually took his time to show him the different dogs, cats and small animals they had on their three stores of the shelter grounds. Another day he came in looking for a goldfish. You know, just to see if they had them in a shelter. And because he low-key wanted a goldfish for himself. 

But after talking about pretty much every single neighbour, friend or somewhat affiliated member of society he could think of he realized that he was quickly running out of ideas… so he decided that there was just one more thing he could do: 

Ask Derek out directly. 

Which, truth be told, didn’t come as easy to Stiles as he would have liked to say. Sure, he wasn’t shy in his day to day life, but asking someone out who he hadn’t even really (properly so) flirted with? Daring. He didn’t even know if Derek sailed that way, figuratively speaking. However, he did know that he was single – his (usually grumpy) sister Cora at the counter had told him in a passing moment, several days ago, so there was, maybe, a chance. 

He just needed to find a way to play his cards right… so he figured a final visit was in order. 

 

+++++

 

“You want to do what now?” 

“I wanna see the smallest animals you have here, man,” Stiles repeated, rolling his eyes. He was bouncing on the balls of his feet next to Derek, watching him bend forward and set down a particularly big, empty crate. Derek had told him, about a week ago, that they ended up taking in a whole lot of rodents and small pets, among them bunnies, guinea pigs and an (according to Derek) massively overweight hamster. They hadn’t had the chance to go to that area of the shelter together before, because the animals still had to be screened by Deaton before they could have been set up for adoption. Today, however, was the day they would be allowed to be visited by the public.

“Alright,” Derek said with a shake of his head, leading the way. Stiles followed and didn’t allow his heart to speed up already. 

He was getting there, alright. 

They went up to the second floor, and Derek unlocked one of the heavy doors with the glass windows Stiles had been looking through in curiosity for the last few weeks now. Inside was a big room with comfortably bedding in every corner, a lot of straw on the side, and a handful of small rabbits hopping around happily. 

“Oh my god!” 

Stiles made a high-pitched sound, for the moment forgetting his entire agenda. Sure, asking out a man would be easier with a little touchy-feely-ness, or so he had thought. But the sight of the adorable floppy-eared animals took his breath away for the moment. 

“Look at those! I swear I am in love,” he blurted out. Derek just chuckled, lifting one of the small animals up and inspecting it up closely. 

“Here, you can hold Ringo,” he suggested, putting the (adorable, small, fluffy, soft!) baby bunny into Stiles outstretched arms. It took all his self-control not to squeal at the soft touch, and he immediately cradled it in his arms, close to his chest. 

“How do you even do this job without melting, Derek, I swear. I would be dying every single day. Dying of cuteness,” Stiles rambled, looking at Ringo who sniffed at his shirt collar. Derek lifted another bunny and ran a hand through its soft fur carefully, making sure it wasn’t startled or uncomfortable. 

“I don’t know. I guess I just love making animals happy. And they don’t have anyone, so when they come here to us I wanna make sure they’re comfortable and know that we care about them.” 

Stiles’ mouth stood open as he listened. This wasn’t Derek the handsome stranger; this was Derek the thoughtful, almost vulnerable guy, talking to him about his thoughts while cuddling a speckled bunny to his chest. Stiles was about to reply, to pour his own heart out, tell Derek all he thought about him – but all that came out was a high-pitched squeak. 

Apparently, Ringo had decided that the perfect spot would not be inside Stiles’ arms – but inside his shirt. 

“Getitoutgetitout!” he shrieked, shaken by giggles as he soft fur brushed his skin, feathery soft hairs tickling his ribcage. Derek was laughing too, setting down his own little companion and reaching out and lifting his shirt at the side to get the bunny back out – 

Only to freeze in mid-motion. 

“Is that…” 

Stiles had finally stopped laughing, holding Ringo back in his hand, when his eyes followed the line of Derek’s gaze. There it was, his soulmark – dark against his pale skin on the right side of his ribcage, almost glowing as Derek’s fingertip brushed against it. Tickling more than the rabbit fur ever could. 

Stiles’ eyes went wide. 

“No way… don’t tell me you… know it?” 

Derek didn’t reply. Instead he moved his other hand, the one not lifting Stiles’ shirt away from the mark, and dragged his own Henley upwards – revealing the very same shadow on his skin, in exact the same position. 

“You,” Stiles said with wide-open eyes, feeling his heart jump in his chest. “You’ve been the one all along,” he managed to say, excitement and relief and giddiness all flooding him at once, culminating in a swooping, excited break of a tidal wave above his head when Derek surged forward, catching him in a steady, solid embrace, almost flattening him against his chest – 

“No, hey, hold on!” Stiles managed to get out. For one second a hint of almost-hurt flashed across Derek’s eyes, before he looked down, eyes catching Ringo who he almost squished between their bodies. Stiles set the rabbit down – before returning with fervour, throwing his arms around Derek’s neck with bubbling laughter, pressing his face into the crook of his neck and taking in his scent of happiness, warmth and wonderful, wonderful prospects of a future together.


End file.
